Friday, April 30, 2010

By Fathia Mohamed Yusuf April 30, 2010
________________________
Our father, Mohamed Yusuf Bashir, a Muslim and Somali American passed away on April 7th, 2010. He had a long battle with complications due to multiple strokes. My late father was transported to Ohio from Lewiston Maine, to spend the last days of his life with his immediate family. After our father passed away he was transported to Rutherford Funeral home. Because of the passing of another Muslim, our father could not be buried until April 8th after Assar prayer. We arrived at the Ibn Taymiya Mosque in Columbus, Ohio, unaware of the events that would unfold this day. After Assar prayer, the Imam of the mosque Sheik Adam S Abdullahi took the microphone and shared some disturbing information. This is what he said
1. The Imam said that our father changed his name to a non-Islamic American name, although it is important to know that the Imam never met my father nor did he speak with any family member for clarification.
2. He also said the deceased never prayed. Again he made this without speaking with the mourning family members who were present at the mosque at the time. Whether or not my father prayed or not prayed is not the issue. The truth is that as an Imam, he should not be making such decisions without any clarification from the family. The duty of an Imam is not to pass judgment only Allah has the right to pass such judgment. An Imams’ duty is to comfort and soothe the deceased person’s family and to pray for forgiveness.
3. The Imam stated that the deceased never fasted. (This again is another false statement only Allah could know the answer to this. Our father was a diabetic with a list of 26 medications that he took on a daily basic)
4. The further stated that the deceased never took the Shahada. The congregation was very saddened to hear this and got very angry, and we the family were very disappointed to hear such blatant fabrication. He could have simply spoken with the family members for any clarification. A person in that position should not at all according to Sharia law refuse the Janaazah prayer for the deceased without clear evidence. Because of these reasons he said WE WILL NOT pray Janaazah. Imam Aden also said that our father could not be buried in an Islamic cemetery and that a man such as our father does not deserve to reap the rewards that are received through Janaazah prayer.
5. At no point was any of the information provided over the microphone by Imam Aden, to the congregation was ever verified by the family members or friends. Our family was disrespected in a time of grief and our deceased father was slandered in a Mosque. After slandering our deceased father, the Imam asked for witnesses to prove our father proclaimed Islam by saying SHAHADA. At this point at least 5 t o 10 friends and family members stood up, many others were so shocked by the imam’s words that they were frozen on the prayer floor. Even after the imam saw that there were many witnesses to my father’s faith, he continued to question them in an accusatory manner and said he will not pray for the deceased. As a result of this, pandemonium broke out in the Mosque. Different matters were raised as potential reason why Imam Aden behaved as he did. The idea of tribal clashes and misleading gossip was mentioned. However, the true issue is what happened in the Mosque on April 8th after Assar prayer was un-Islamic and unacceptable.
6. After the Imam was confronted by the community on the matter, the Imam claimed a man posing to be a family member, approached him and fed him with false information. Again this imam never bothered to verify the information with family members, including my mother or any of my siblings who attended at the mosque. Consequently our fathers Janaazah prayer turned into a Mosque riot.

The Imam’s justification for his action later was to say that he called an Imam at Maine mosque to ask whether he used to attend, and I wonder if this Imam recognizes me from his own mosque.
In conclusion we would cordially and respectfully request a full public apology from this man. Additionally, we request that this man receive counsel from all of the Sheik’s and Imams’ that sit on the Fiqh counsel in Columbus, Ohio. We also want the man that told such horrible things about our father, the man portraying to be a Sheik/Imam apologize to the family and publicly announce why he had such ill will towards the deceased.
Sincerely,
Fathia Mohamed Yusuf
For further information on this issue, please contact Yusuf Family at
Email: fathiayusuf@hotmail.com
614-546-7698
Columbus, OH

Mogadishu. Somalia, April 29 (UPI) -- Somali al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab said it carried out a suicide attack on peacekeepers in Mogadishu in retaliation for the deaths of Iraqi al-Qaida leaders.
Al-Shabaab said it targeted the base for peacekeepers with the African Union in Mogadishu in response to the killing of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq. The two were killed last week in Tikrit during a joint raid by Iraqi and U.S. forces.
Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for al-Shabaab, said the attack killed 20 peacekeepers with the African Union Mission to Somalia. Maj. Barigye Ba-Hoku, a spokesman for AMISOM, told Voice of America, however, that AU soldiers thwarted the attack.Al-Shabaab was blamed with killing nearly 40 AMISOM peacekeepers since troops from the Ugandan military arrived in Mogadishu in 2007. Somali and international human rights groups have protested AMISOM soldiers and al-Shabaab fighters for fighting in populated areas of the capital.
Al-Shabaab during the first week of April ordered national radio stations to stop carrying VOA and BBC broadcasts, saying their reports were insulting to Muslims. VOA is the official external broadcasting service of the U.S. federal government.

In this handout from the U.S. Navy, The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) passes by the smoke from a suspected pirate skiff it disabled March 31, 2010 in the Gulf of Aden. USS Farragut is part of Combined Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct anti

Some Somali-Canadians have received a cut of the ransoms collected by pirates operating off the Horn of Africa and money may have been sent back to Somalia to fund other hijackings, according to an intelligence specialist on piracy.
Karsten von Hoesslin, a senior analyst for Risk Intelligence, told naval officers from Pacific Ocean nations gathered in Victoria for a three-day maritime security conference, that the transfer of ransom money has been tracked from Somalia to Ottawa and a number of other locations that are home to Somali communities.
"It's coming to Ottawa, it's in London and Nairobi," he said. "We know where the money is going."
Risk Intelligence is a Danish-based firm that provides advice and information about piracy, organized crime and terrorism to companies and governments. Its analysts have made trips to Somalia to gather information.
Since January, there have been 65 attacks on ships off the coast of Somalia. Pirates have seized 17 vessels and have taken 362 hostages.
Shipping companies almost always pay for the release of crews and vessels. Ransoms range from $3 million to $7 million per ship.
Von Hoesslin declined to get into specifics about where the ransom money is going in the Somali community in Ottawa. "There is money going both ways to and from Ottawa," he added.
He said that there is the potential that some of the money that Somali-Canadians send back to the region is "to invest in the piracy syndicates."
Piracy off the Horn of Africa is big business, with Somali individuals and communities investing in pirate ventures. Pirates are provided with food, supplies and transportation all on credit, von Hoesslin explained. When the ransoms are paid, the investors and suppliers all receive a cut, he added.
Von Hoesslin pointed out one case in which a Somali security official working for Risk Intelligence was offered a chance to invest in a piracy operation for $5,000 U.S.. The man declined, but acknowledged if he had gone through with the investment he would have made a large profit, von Hoesslin said.
He said there has not been enough effort focused on following the flow of ransom money from the region. "When it comes to asset tracking, the institutions who are tracking are asleep at the wheel," von Hoesslin said.
Interpol, he added, also has been lax in sharing information with governments in the region, such as those of Kenya and the Seychelles, hindering the ability of those nations to prosecute pirates.
Many immigrants from Asia and Africa use hawalas to send cash to their homeland faster and cheaper than the formal banking system. Largely unregulated, hawalas are informal financing networks: take your money to a hawala in Ottawa, and within minutes or hours, a trusted associate is releasing the cash equivalent to your relative on the other side of the world, for a modest fee. The hawala industry came under scrutiny after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and new rules were introduced in Canada requiring hawala operators to track all transactions.
Farah Aw Osman, executive-director of Canadian Friends of Somalia, is from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, home base for many of the pirate syndicates.
"Somalis hear foreign governments saying they want to crack down on the pirates, but without addressing the root causes of the piracy," he said. "Some of the very countries making the loudest noises about piracy are the ones who send their boats to the Somali coast for illegal fishing. That's piracy itself, looting those waters. It has tremendous impact on local fishing."
Aw Osman argued that piracy will flourish as long as there are scores of unemployed young men drifting to the Somali coast, the longest in Africa.
Somali pirates have extended their range and can now be found operating up to 1,000 nautical miles offshore. Their small boats are transported out to sea by larger mother ships.
Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks pirate attacks, noted that Somalis are so destitute that they line up to become pirate crews. Being captured and thrown into a European or U.S. jail, where they are provided with three meals a day is not a deterrent, he added.
What is required is that international law enforcement agencies conduct better tracking of where the ransom money goes and then target those who are funding pirate ventures, said Mukundan. "You need to target the people at the top," he said.

(Reuters) - Kenya has deployed security agents to its border with Somalia after Islamic clerics announced they had clamped down on the public broadcast of soccer and films, a security official said.Clerics in the frontier town of Mandera said Monday they had confiscated a number of satellite TV dishes in a football-obsessed nation ahead of the World Cup because public film dens were corrupting youths."Two groups, an undercover team from National Security Intelligence Service and (an) anti-terrorist unit, arrived here Tuesday night to investigate," a senior local security source who did not wish to be named told Reuters late Thursday.The security officer also said another team had been dispatched to Dadaab refugee camp which is home to some 270,000 mostly Somali refugees in the mostly Muslim region.He said local residents from Mandera, located just a few kilometres from the porous border, claimed al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels in Somalia had made phone calls to congratulate the clerics.A government spokesman denied the deployment but one leading cleric in Mandera, Sheikh Daud Sheikh Mahmud, said he had been informed of the intelligence officers' arrival.Mandera district's top civil servant sought to allay fears that hardline Islamist insurgents in southern Somalia might be extending their influence across the frontier and said it was a local security committee that had closed down the video halls."The closure of video dens has the government's blessing," said District Commissioner Francis Lenyangume.Lenyangume said parents backed the move because the dens were frequented by drug pushers and showed pornographic films. Local residents were free to watch the World Cup and satellite TV in their own homes, he said.Al Shabaab militants control swathes of central and southern Somalia, including much of the area bordering Kenya, enforcing a harsh version of sharia law that includes banning music on radios and amputating the hands of thieves.Ten percent of Kenya's 39 million people are Muslim and 78 percent are Christian, according to the CIA World Factbook.

French warship has destroyed a pirate mother ship some 438 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, the EU Naval Force Public Affairs Office has said.
The Nivose light surveillance frigate "found, stopped and searched" a suspicious vessel and two supporting skiffs on Thursday afternoon. The search revealed that the vessel was a pirate mother ship.
A total of 11 suspected pirates were arrested and the mother ship was destroyed.
The EU anti-piracy operation, dubbed Atalanta, has been patrolling shipping routes off the Horn of Africa from Somali pirates since December 2008 to deal with pirates, who thrive off the coast of Somalia.
Naval warships and aircraft from the U.K., Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden have been involved in actively escorting commercial ships through the Gulf of Aden. The operation has been extended by the European Council until December 2010.
In a report to the UN Security Council issued last year, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said international anti-piracy operations off Somalia have led to a decline in the number of successful ship seizures in the region.
But many analysts believe that piracy will continue to be a problem until an effective government is established in Somalia. The east African nation has been without a fully functioning government since 1991.
According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirates attacked 217 vessels and seized 47 of them last year.

Apr 29, 2010 — During a change of command ceremony at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti (CLDJ), April 28, 2010, Captain Darius Banaji relieved Captain Bill Finn as commanding officer of the only U.S. military installation on the continent of Africa.

The U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti, James Swan; The Japanese Ambassador to Djibouti, Masiki Noke; Commander Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, Rear Admiral David Mercer; Djibouti Deputy Defense Chief of Staff, General Hassan Ali Kamil; as well as nearly 200 U.S. and Djiboutian military, state officials, and civilians gathered in the camp's recreation facility, 11 Degrees North, to welcome Banaji.

"I look forward to building on the foundation Captain Finn created not only on camp, but also in the community with our Djiboutian hosts," said Banaji. "I have relieved him before in Hawaii and I am confident following in his footsteps as commander at Camp Lemonnier"
.
While at CLDJ nearly a year to the day, Finn has initiated and witnessed the metamorphosis of the camp. When Finn took command in June 2009, there were nearly 1,500 personnel deployed to camp. Now there is a multinational force of more than 3,000 personnel along with nearly 800 local national personnel who work at the camp every day in support of various commands and missions.

"I am proud of the work the dedicated personnel on camp have accomplished during my time here," said Finn. "I am also proud of the strong personal relationships we have been able to build with the Djibouti City community and the Djiboutian government."

During the change of command ceremony, Finn took time to specially recognize key Djiboutian government officials and the Djiboutian people.

"The U.S. is very fortunate that the Djiboutian government and its citizens have embraced our presence in their country, and we have the responsibility to be the best tenants possible," said Finn at the ceremony. "We must always be transparent in our operations, maximizing opportunities for Djiboutian businesses and people on camp, and above all else be outstanding representatives of the U.S."

During his tenure, Finn helped shift the camp from a skeletal expeditionary infrastructure to a thriving expeditionary environment, offering most of the support elements that would be found at any Navy installation and capable of transitioning to an enduring facility in the future. Finn helped foster construction projects for a new chow hall, new recreational facilities, a new post office and chapel, and an ATM; the first on camp.

While cementing the camp's infrastructure, Finn also dedicated countless hours to improving ties with the local community and businesses.

"Captain Finn made a difference for the camp by working with local leadership and the local media to give a face to the camp," said Mahamed Abdillahi, the camp's community relations specialist and a local Djiboutian. "Before the community was not aware of what Camp Lemonnier was. Now you can indentify Camp Lemonnier with Captain Finn."

Abdillahi added that there is also more trust from the local community toward the camp because of the efforts of Finn and his staff.

During the ceremony Finn received the Legion of Merit for his extraordinary work while serving as the camp commanding officer. Along with the change in the camp's command, Commander Brian Wilson relieved Commander Dave Cook as executive officer at camp. After leaving Djibouti, Finn will report to Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as the operations officer while Cook will report to Offutt Air Base, Nebraska, as a planner for Joint Functional Component Command (JFCC) - Global Strike.

"I'm happy to have taken command of such a dedicated and talented group of people," said Banaji, "and I know that the staff and I are excited about the direction of Camp Lemonnier and potentially ushering in a new 'enduring' era here in the Horn of Africa."

Camp Lemonnier provides, operates and maintains superior service to meet the needs of regional tenant commands, and facilitate operations in the Horn of Africa, while promoting positive relations between the United States and African nations.

Al-Qaeda linked fighters and government soldiers battle resulted to at least 14 civilians death. The clash happened on Tuesday and was followed by a separate car bomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. It is said to be a cause of al-Shabab fighters in the base of African Union peacekeepers. Three were dead after the peacekeepers fired on the explosives-laden vehicle. Somalia’s clash triggered a four-hour battle.
The head of Mogadishu’s ambulance, Ali Muse, reported that his group had counted six bodies and took and estimated 40 wounded people to different hospitals. Alif Araf, a tailor in the area was slightly wounded during the battle and also counted eight bodies of people.
Al-Shabab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage said that the attack was in retaliation for the recent killing of senior al-Qaeda commanders Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri in Iraq.
“We have carried out a holy suicide attack against the enemy of Allah in Mogadishu today and we destroyed the bank building where they were stationed,” Mohamoud Rage said.
“This attack was a retaliation for the killing of our mujahedin brothers Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu al-Masri… in Iraq”
Al-Shabab which means “The Youth” are believed to be the largest group among several Islamist and clan militias battling the transitional government in Somalia. The said group was the former military wing of the deposed Islamic Court Union (ICU) that controlled much of central and southern Somalia in late 2006. Earlier this year, the group refused to engage in the peace process that brought elements of the Islamic courts in the government. The said group is being led by Muktar Ali Robow. Muktar Ali Robow is also known as Abu Mansoor and was the previous deputy defence secretary of the Islamic court.
Al-Shabab, together with its allies which is the Hezb al-Islam have restricted Ahmed’s government control to just a few streets in the capital. This is said to start since the launching of an onslaught last year.
The AU strong force which has an approximately 5,000 members with troops from Uganda and Burundi has a major role or targeting al-Shabab fighters who vowed to overthrow the transitional government.

A showdown between Somalia's pirates and the country's most powerful Islamic army was avoided this week, but the standoff shed light on the growing and complicated relationship between the two groups.

Members of the hardline Islamist rebel group al-Shabaab parade through the streets of Somalia's...
Members of the hardline Islamist rebel group al-Shabaab parade through the streets of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, in this January 2010 file photo. A showdown between Somalia's pirates and the country's most powerful Islamic army was avoided this week, but the standoff shed light on the growing and complicated relationship between the two groups. (Feisal Omar/Reuters)Somalia's fiercest Islamic group al-Shabaab had advanced on the pirate stronghold of Harardhere, but were repelled by a pro-government militia. The rampant piracy of the last few years has yet to be directly tied to the network of Islamic fighters that has been classified by Washington and other western countries as terrorists.For a long time the two remained separate, divided as much by geography as by ideology. Pirates were concentrated in the Gulf of Aden near Puntland in northern Somalia, hundreds of miles from the nearest Shabaab stronghold. But as the international community cracks down on the Gulf's corridor, and Shabaab's influence grows further north, the pirates' areas of operations came closer to Shabaab-controlled areas. The two have had an uneasy co-existence. While there's little evidence the Islamists are directly involved with piracy, Puntland's Director General Abdiwahid Mohamed Hersi told ABC News that some of the millions of dollars in pirate ransoms end up in Shabaab's hands. "The pirates pay Shabaab 'taxes' of up to $100,000 on ransom monies," Abdiwahid Mohamed Hersi told ABC News during a recent trip to Somalia. The relationship extends beyond just a cut of the ransom. Sometimes there is protection and training involved as well, says Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa Seafarer's Assistance Program, which tracks piracy in the region. "Some of the pirates go to Shabaab to receive weapons training," Mwangura claims. Keep up with news about Somali pirates by following Dana Hughes on Twitter A full-fledged merger remains unlikely because, Mwangura says, it's not good for either group. Shabaab has publicly-stated its desire to rule all of Somalia using strict Sharia-law, and has been known to cut off the limbs of men and women accused of stealing items as small as cell phones. The group has also made public statements against piracy, calling it un-Islamic. Shabaab has its own, often brutal, court and justice system, and group elders in cities charge taxes on businesses. As long as the business pays the tax and follows Shabaab's laws, there's no issue. Mwangura says the business of piracy is no exception.NEXT >

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Islamist leader of Hizbul Islam Organization Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys has Tuesday held press conference in the Somali capital Mogadishu and said that Sheik Ahmed Madobe signed deal with the transitional government and Kenya.Sheik Aweys talked more on the latest matters in Jubba regions in southern Somalia where there had been tense between Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen and other forces led by Sheik Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) who was member of Hizbul Islam organization had formally agreed with Kenya and Somali government "We knew that Sheik Ahmed Madobe had signed agreement with the transitional government and the Kenyan government. They agreed to defend Jubba and Gedo regions in southern Somalia. Hizbul Islam will protect that," said Sheik Hassan Dahir AweysThe leader expressed concern on campaigns he said were continuing in different directions and organizing by many countries including in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Burundi calling for those countries to halt intervening Somalia.The Islamist leader threatened that the fire burning in Somalia would reach them if nor stopped involving Somalia pointing out that the Somalis did not know their interests calling them to know the goals.The statement of Hizbul Islam leader comes as there had been tense between Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen and forces loyal to Sheik Ahmed Madobe whom Hizbul Islam said several times that he was one of the Islamist officials of Hizbul Islam Organization.

Somali demonstrators take to the streets in government-controlled southern part of capital to protest the actions of Al-Qaida-linked groups in their country, Mogadishu (File Photo)

Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist rebels have claimed responsibility for Tuesday's suicide car bomb attack at a base for African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu. The al-Qaida-linked militants say the bombing was in retaliation for the recent killings of two senior al-Qaida commanders in Iraq.

The spokesman for al-Shabab, Ali Mohamud Rage, called Tuesday's suicide attack a "success," claiming that the explosion destroyed a former Somali commercial bank building housing African Union peacekeeping troops from Uganda.

Rage says the blast killed 20 peacekeepers, disputing statements made earlier by the Ugandan spokesman for the peacekeeping mission known as AMISOM.AMISOM spokesman, Major Barigye Ba-Hoku, told VOA Somali Service that African Union soldiers foiled the attack by killing three would-be suicide bombers inside the vehicle. He said two soldiers were wounded when the explosives-laden vehicle blew up before it reached the entrance to the base. Ugandan newspapers subsequently reported that five soldiers had been wounded, one seriously.Al-Shabab, considered a terrorist group by the West, says the attack was carried out in retaliation for the killing of two top al-Qaida leaders in Iraq. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri were killed last week during an Iraqi-U.S. military raid on their safe house in Tikrit, north of Baghdad.Al-Shabab, which is fighting to create an ultra-conservative Islamic caliphate in the Horn of Africa, recently proclaimed allegiance to al-Qaida and has expressed solidarity with al-Qaida-affliated groups. Al-Baghdadi was the self-described leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an off-shoot of al-Qaida, and al-Masri was a weapons expert trained in Afghanistan.

The suicide car attack in Mogadishu Tuesday triggered another round of violence in the Somali capital. Witnesses say al-Shabab traded mortars and gunfire for more than four hours with AMISOM, Somali government troops and pro-government militiamen. At least 14 civilians are reported to have been killed in the cross-fire.Uganda and Burundi are the only contributors to the 5,300-member peacekeeping mission in Somalia, which has a mandate to keep Somalia's weak U.N.-backed transitional government from being toppled by al-Shabab and other radical Islamist groups.The United States and European Union countries are heavily involved in the training of AMISOM and Somali troops, making them a frequent target of insurgent attacks. Suicide and roadside bombings blamed on al-Shabab have killed nearly three dozen AMISOM soldiers since the first contingent of Ugandan troops arrived in Mogadishu in 2007.In recent months, AMISOM, as well as insurgent groups, have been sharply criticized by Somali and international human rights groups for indiscriminately shelling populated areas of the capital and causing high civilian casualties. An estimated 21,000 Somalis are believed to have been killed, mostly in Mogadishu, since the insurgency against the government began three years ago.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The African Union and its backers in the Somalia conflict Wednesday rejected accusations they flouted the laws of war while trying to quell a 3-year insurgency that has brought the nation to its knees. Some 21,000 people have been killed in the violence since the beginning of 2007 and 3 million more -- one third of the population -- receive emergency aid as the Somali government and African Union troops battle Islamist rebels in the capital. Some aid agencies and human rights groups say both sides are guilty of indiscriminate shelling of crowded markets and residential areas, something the African Union (AU) denies. "We are not at the same level as the terrorists ... we are very careful not to shell them when they are among the population," said Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, the African Union's special representative for Somalia. "Al Shabaab move within the population and shell our troops but even in this case, as a peaceful operation, we have to be very careful," Diarra told reporters in Nairobi. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group controls much of central and southern Somalia and has left the government in control of little more than a few streets in Mogadishu."Part of the challenge we have in Somalia has been the restraint on the part of the government and AMISOM (the AU peacekeeping force)," said Kiprute arap Kirwa, regional body IGAD's peace and reconciliation facilitator for Somalia. "They only reply when there is provocation and they have kept to the rules of play," Kirwa said. Human rights groups say Western powers and the United Nations have been quick to condemn civilian killings by Somali Islamist fighters, but are turning a blind eye to abuses by government troops and African Union soldiers. "The U.S. government has sent mortars to transitional government forces in Mogadishu even though no party to the fighting has used the weapons in accordance with the laws of war," Human Rights Watch said in a statement last week. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the United Nations envoy to Somalia, challenged the human rights reports saying their evidence was built from afar and not in step with the realities in Mogadishu.
(Editing by David Clarke)

News reports indicate that Somali pirates were forced to flee from the coastal community of Haradheere after a weekend attack by al-Shabaab militants. The Voice of America says pirates from Haradheere fled in the wake of news that hundreds of fighters belonging to the Islamist group were approaching the area, taking a number of captured vessels and human hostages north towards the next nearest pirate stronghold, the town of Hobyo. (On the map above, Haradheere is not marked, but is located in the southern corner of Mudug province.)

According to The Guardian, two vehicles with al-Shabaab fighters entered Haradheere Sunday evening, though they are reported to have later left. But the fear of being attacked by the Islamist group was apparently enough of a worry for the pirates to decamp to safer places. A businessman in Haradheere told the media that, "The town is nearly empty after the pirates have left it...It is calm but tense."

The Guardian report also says that among the hostages who were moved by the pirates was the British couple - Rachel and Paul Chandler - who have been held since their yacht was captured last October. The Chandlers are said to have been bundled out of Haradheere in a vehicle. In The Guardian post, a leader from the gang holding the Chandlers claims that al-Shabaab offered his group £1.2m for the couple, though the pirates are demanding £1.6m in ransom.

The attack by al-Shabaab may be part of the group's efforts to consolidate control over more of central Somalia, and to impose their form of justice on criminals like pirates. But another possible motive being mentioned in the VoA report is that revenge may be a factor. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Association says that pirates recently hijacked a vessel suspected of carrying arms intended for al-Shabaab. Pirates are also reported to have seized several dhows laden with charcoal that had left Somalia bound for the Gulf States. Mwangura says the cargoes were sources of money for al-Shabaab, so the fighters are angry about the loss of revenue (most of the dhows have since been freed, according to the VoA report).

When faced with an armed opposition intent on attacking their shore-based strongholds, Somali pirates would prefer to cut-and-run rather than fight it out. And this recent incident brings to mind the period when the Islamic Courts Union briefly held sway over large parts of southern and central Somalia in 2006, and brought piracy to a near stand-still as a result of their imposition of law and order in the area.

Somali government soldiers. The desertions raise fears that a US-backed drive to strengthen the Somali army may backfire. Photograph: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP

Hundreds of Somali soldiers trained with US funding have deserted, with some crossing over to the al-Qaida-linked militants they are supposed to be fighting, it emerged today.
The troops, backed with millions of US dollars, are leaving the ranks because they are not receiving their $100 (£65) monthly wage. The desertions raise fears that an American-backed drive next month to strengthen Somalia's army may increase the ranks of the insurgency.

The US has spent $6.8m supporting training for nearly 1,000 soldiers in neighboring Djibouti and about another 1,100 soldiers in Uganda, the state department and western diplomats said.
A Somali army officer, Colonel Ahmed Aden Dhayow, told the Associated Press the troops were supposed to earn $100 a month, but about half of those trained in Djibouti deserted because they were not paid. "Some gave up the army and returned to their ordinary life and others joined the rebels," he said.
The state minister for defence, Yusuf Mohamed Siyad, confirmed that some trainees had joined the al-Shabab militant group, but he declined to specify the number of deserters.
During a recent AP visit, dejected-looking soldiers sat under dust-covered thorn trees at the government's main military base, Camp Jazira, which lacks toilets, a clinic or even a perimeter fence. They had not been paid, some for months, they said, adding that their wages were intercepted by senior officials.
Pressed for details, mid-level officers glanced at colleagues clutching plastic bags of spaghetti, the day's lunch ration, before saying they could not discuss the problem.
"There is not enough money to pay everyone," Colonel Ali Hassan said as a group of officers listened, then added hastily: "But we are happy there is some money."
Earlier this year it emerged that army recruits were using sticks instead of guns as they trained for combat. Officials admitted that a long-planned government offensive against insurgents had been delayed partly because of a lack of training and equipment.
Failure to resolve the pay issue could threaten the success of a joint US and EU training program beginning in Uganda next month that has been touted as the biggest effort to rebuild the army in 20 years.
Funding for the Somali army is a complex affair involving contributions from donor nations, the UN and the Somali government. Individual countries sometimes pledge to cover salaries for a limited number of soldiers for a few months, and when the money runs out, salaries go unpaid.
The US has provided $2m to pay Somali soldiers and purchase supplies and equipment in Mogadishu since 2007, according to the State Department. Another $12m went towards transport, uniforms and equipment, but the US has declined to say how much of that paid for training.
Violence raged in Mogadishu yesterday with at least 16 deaths, one from a rare attack on a mosque. Witnesses said a landmine exploded as worshippers were going to the Abu Hureyra mosque in Bakara Market, an area used as a base by rebels fighting the government and African Union peacekeeping troops.
Residents said nine people died when mortar shells hit a house in the south of the city, two rebels and a government soldier were killed in fighting near Bakara Market and two AU soldiers were wounded when they stopped a suicide bomber from ramming a truck laden with explosives into their base.
The turmoil, and the lawless east African nation's proximity to Yemen, where al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is based, has fed fears that Somalia could be used to launch attacks on the west.
Somalia's besieged UN-supported government holds only a few blocks of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, while Islamic insurgents control the rest of the city and most of the country.Associated Press Unpaid Somali soldiers desert to insurgency‎

Yusuf Mohammed Siad, sometimes known as "Inda'ade" or "White Eyes" (Somali: Yuusuf Maxamed Siyaad (Indhacadde)) is the Somali Defense Minister. He was previously an Islamist member of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia. He is from the Ayr sub-clan[, part of the Habar Gidir, which is a branch of the Hawiye clan. He has served as deputy and financier for Hassan Dahir Aweys, and served as the security chief.Nick-named "white-eyed" (or Indhacadde), he was a former Hawiye warlord who occupied Lower Shabelle in 2002. He later allied himself with the Islamic Courts. The Islamic Courts advanced to central and south Somalia regions, including the Kismayo area, before Inda'ade pledged his support, giving them control of Lower Shabelle region in September 2006.In December 2006, he appealed to foreign Muslim fighters to join his movement's Holy War against Ethiopia, On December 12, 2006, he issued the ultimatum that Ethiopian forces should withdraw within seven days. he warned African nations to not send forces to Somalia. On December 19, the deadline for Ethiopia came and went. Analysts considered Inda'ade's hardline stance had caused a split with moderates within the ICU. On December 20, after the Ethiopians refused to withdraw, he admitted fighting had begun between the two sides, marking the beginning of the war at the Battle of Baidoa.Recently he became part of the Islamist restance group, formed in January 2008 known as Hizbul Islam. He however soon started an internal conflict in the group as he claimed to have removed the group's chairman Sheikh Omar Iman abubakr and replaced him with another Islamic cleric. Hassan Dahir Aweys however expressed support for Omar Iman and criticized Inda'ade saying he "has made it normal to destroy every group he is part of."[On May 17, he defected to the Transitional Talaban Mostly Hawiye Government.

General Hussein Yusuf Dhumal, Commander in Chief of the Somali military forces who quit the Somali interim government,resigned over Yusuf Mohammed Siad and called him "the most dangerous man in Mostly hawiye somali Taliban government..

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

No country for young men: watching films or football can lead to a lashing in Mogadishu (file photo)

NAIROBI, 27 April 2010 (IRIN) - Living in a war-torn city is hard enough for Mogadishu's youngsters, but even those few opportunities for entertainment they used to enjoy have now been banned. Listening to music, watching football or films can earn one up to 30 lashes from the enforcers who patrol neighbourhoods checking for "un-Islamic" behaviour.

"We cannot watch our favourite teams, go to a movie or do anything that young people our age do," said Loyaan Lugacade, 17, who lives in an area controlled by the militant Al-Shabab group.The Hisbul Islam insurgent group on 3 April issued an edict claiming that playing music was un-Islamic, forcing 14 of the city's 16 broadcasters to replacejingleswith recorded gunfire, croaking frogs and crowing cockerels.Its announcement was nothing new to Lugacade and his friends. "For six months fun was forbidden to us. Now the rest of the city is joining us," he told IRIN.Lugacade said the only time they could watch a football match or a film was clandestinely, at friends’ houses in areas not controlled by the insurgents."If you are caught you get lashed up to 30 times," he said.Faradheere A'day, 18, wants to watch his favourite football team, Arsenal, but not in his neighbourhood, which is controlled by insurgents, who consider it un-Islamic."Imagine being denied doing the most harmless things in the world! I don’t want to hurt or kill anyone. I just want to play and watch football."A'day was caught watching a film with friends and had to flee the enforcers to avoid being caned. "I have seen people who got lashed and it is not a pretty sight, so I run," he told IRIN.There is not much entertainment for young people in the war-torn city, aside from films and sport. The two Islamist groups have been fighting government troops, who are supported by African Union peacekeepers, in and around Mogadishu, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians."Movies and football used to be the only avenue of fun available to them. Now that is closed. Having fun in this town is illegal," said a local journalist.He said the insurgents were not winning many converts among the youth with their decrees. "I don’t think many of the youth will be lining up to join them."A'day said he and his friends gathered in their neighbourhoods to talk about "things like football or movies. At least talking is not forbidden - for now anyway."

The Jehadist administration of Hizbul-Islam mostly Habir-gidr Hawiye
an armed rival Islamist function in Somalia has flogged a man accused of playing bambling at Wanlaweyn district in the lower shabelle region in southern Somalia.The flogged man has left his companion and went to the district administration office to accuse his fellow gamblers of tricking him some money, but instead he was flogged for been a member of the gambler

The man was flogged in front of hundreds of people for playing gambling.The administration of Hizbul-Islam has said that they have absolute evidence that the man was among a group of gamblers in the district and there is enough supporting evidence to flog him publicly.whoever plays it will be penalized according to the Islamic law” said Habar-gidir hawiye Sharia judge Hawiye jehadest Hussein Ahmed an officer of Hizbul-Islam.
This will be the first time to flog somebody gambling in the town of Wanlaweyn district, although there were several other occasions when people in the district were flogged for different issues.

Terrorist Abdi Hayi Ahmed Noor the commander of Al-Shabab an armed rival Islamist faction at Diinsoor district in Bay region west of the Somali capital Mogadishu was overnight wounded in an explosion. According to reliable information which is receiving from the very district of Diinsor where the explosion has occurred says, that it is yet mysterious what the cause of explosion was.The explosion has occurred after the 7:30pm local time, and by then the commander of Al-Shabab in Diinsor district was by then coming out of the mosque where he has performed his prayers.The injury of the commander of Al-Shabab in Dinsor district was verified for the press by Abdurrahman Mire Matan the operation of commander of Al-Shabab fighters in Bay and Bakool regions.“It is something clear that the commander of the Al-Shabab in Diinsoor district is wounded in an explosion, and now there is thorough investigation pertaining to the explosion which is currently under way, and the health status of the commander is not serious as such” said Abdurrahman Mire Matan.
Sheikh Abdurahman Mire Matan has as well added that the security department of Al-Shabab is carrying out operation to secure the region, and to find what the cause of the explosion was.
This is the first explosion to take place in Diinsor district, since the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops from Somali.
In a recent statistics done the areas where the rival Islamist faction of Al-Shabab controls were voted to be the most peaceful areas in Somalia, despite been there been hard restrictions imposed on the inhabitants in the areas under their authority.
Al-Shabab controls most of the regions in south and central Somalia, and it an Al-Qaida proxy in Somalia.

by Dr. Yusuf O. Al-Azhari
It is paradoxical to find now a days misuse of Islam as political procurement and to be high lighted by many desire accomplish groups ravenous for power. Consequently one may question, is Somalia an Islamic Republic by virtue of being a 100% Muslim Nation? If the response is yes, then why all the fuss about this inimitable allegiance to an alien Islamic interpretation by certain groups who camouflage under the shadow of Islam with sinister motives which let us believe that they are more righteous than others? Islam has never been known in Somalia, to be phenomenon used, as a dividing factor among the Somali people in the past. Those trying to use baleful alien Islamic philosophy avid to gain political power are lacking other alternative to achieve their concealed non Islamic aims. Historically the Somalis as a Nation never witnessed politicizing Islam as a means to achieve power. In fact those who proclaimed to be Islamist now could be questioned what were they before their proclamation? Are they new comers to Islam or were born as Muslims by their father and mother? Or do they feel that the Somali Nation was being converted to other faith and therefore in rescue, they wanted to restore Islam in the motherland? These are onerous perceptions hard to digest or simply accept.For generations since the introduction of Islam by the almighty creator, Somalis never condoned any other faith than Islam. Even during the Christian colonial period they peacefully pursued their faith which was strictly guided by their able gifted sunny theologians and elders with wisdom. It seems that the new Islamist that suddenly appeared in our midst intend to revise the Quraan, as others did with their holly Books, to a new distorted Quraan text “Allah forbid”. Listening to some of the falsification in interpreting verses of the Quraan to fit their sinister motives, derives one to believe that they have already commenced amending its real meaning and would soon come up with a different Book. Somalis as astound believers on the Quraan and the Sunna of the Prophet (SCW) would never compromise with their dearly condoned and valued Religion as inherited over the centuries. These foreign agent Wahabi rejecters who actually repudiate all the sound principles of Islamic Religion should be confronted solemnly with firmness in a unified cogency.
The one thing Somalis would never disagree on and want accept any body meddle with, is their spiritual holly Quraan as delivered by the Prophet (SAW) with the comprehensively agreed upon and accepted interpretations. Psychotic Religious extremists are not phenomenon exclusively pertaining, only to Somalis. It is universally found with in the various faiths. Recollecting as recently as in the nineteen sixties the US had the worst fundamentalist that is known to emerge any where in the world. The Kulak Klan (KK) of which similar symptoms we occasionally witness in Somalia now a days. The symbols of this group was a burning cross and they wore white garment covering their entire body with pierced eye wholes which mainly operated in the Southern States and were mercilessly burning churches full of worshipers to the ground. Though the exclusive majority in those churches were from the Afro American this group was never differentiating ethnicity or creed. Some of the priests congregating the church ceremony were whites who were burnt to death with the rest.The American people have since transcended this ugly episode in a commendable, extol worth stride. Awarding with all compassion and sincerity through Democratic election the highest political office to a man from the minority, a case which would have been considered few years back an impossible miracle. Somalia is no lesser candidate to equally transcend the present menacing havoc and instability through peaceful Democratic understanding. Islam does not contradict Democratic principles as a base to good governance. In fact suffrage public nomination of leaders in Islam commenced from the time of the Prophet (SAW). People were allowed to come out in support of the leader of their choice through vocal expressions known in Arabic as (Mubaaya’a). It was Islam that introduces the modalities of Democracy as it is enshrined in the Holly Quaan. Consultative decision is the bases for agreement on any issue of importance among Muslims. The Prophet (SAW) was divinely instructed to consult his followers on crucial issues which needed collective decisions, demonstrating that Islam introduce Democracy while the Western World were still despotically ruled. Islam prohibits as sinful, corruption, misappropriation, and nepotism. Mal administration of public Institutions by any responsible person or a leader is unforgivable crime. Injustice, impunities, killing and mistreatment of human beings and animals without justification are all prohibited and punishable in Islam. However, presently patchy good governance procedures which is inculcated as Democratic principals by the Developed countries of the west, is used as painful whip, to lash with the developing countries while no Nation in this world had ever achieved full Democracy and good governance. It is contemplate that very few countries and Society Groups have seemingly come closer to it.
The imperfection of the Western World as real Democratic Nations with good governance could not be criticized or sanctioned because they are powerful and the Protégées of Democracy and good governance, so to say. In fact some developing countries and societies are much advanced than most of the western countries in implementing certain moral principles of Democracy.Somalia could proudly pursue Democracy without any infringement to their faith. Democracy being one of the socio welfare system, promoted by Islam in the first place, it is wrong to let others snatch it and inculcate terms that suit their political scheme and use it against us. Adhering strictly to the good morals of Islam in fact boosts the success of Democratic good governance around the Universe. Democracy does not mean deviating from implementing Shari ‘a Law or any sound procedure. Most of the western laws were actually driven from Islamic Laws. Both judiciary laws complement one another, if articles incompatible with Islamic Laws are properly sifted and justly repudiated. It is germane that Democratic Governments in Somalia devotedly uphold Islam as the only religion and faith of the country and should be constitutionally protected as the case has always been. The morality of the people should strictly adhere to the valued principles of Islam and rules and regulation past on to us by the Prophet (SAW), which should be literarily pursued with diligence. Distorting these sacred principles through intimidation, killing and public maiming to reach political aims through coercion is a sin punishable to end-up in hell.Islam is the light to knowledge that would lead us to progress in every field. It encourages us not to deny the country and its people to advance in technology, scientific education, industrialization and modernization. Islam is the religion for enhancement and improvements of the life of the people to better standard. In fact Islam encourages us to compete with other Nations for better level of modernization and sagacity that would strengthen our faith. The more we advance and prosper in our way of life, the more our Islamic faith would be consolidated and respected by all. Above all it is mandatory in Islamic teachings to live in peace among ourselves and with others as well.My take on here is that using Islam to divide the Somali Nation would only serve the enemies of Islam and would weaken our National heritage. Those advocating that Somalia should retire to situations of the second or third century of the Islamic age, while the rest of the world is advancing must be psychotic. Let us call upon our National theologians and the Somali masses to united and firmly correct this menacing infringement upon our adored Religion by those ravenous for power with sinister ideology, which should have never shaken our soul in the first place.
The write is a veteran civil servant and career diplomat:geeska23@yahoo.com

April 27, 2010: The anti-piracy patrol has adopted another new tactic. Warships patrol close to towns and villages the pirates operate from. When pirates are spotted heading for sea, they are intercepted, disarmed and their boat seized. But because of the "catch and release" policy of most nations participating in the anti-piracy patrol, the captured pirates are quickly returned to the beach, where they can rearm and reequip themselves, and set out for sea more carefully, avoiding nearby warships. The anti-piracy patrol has reduced the number of pirate attacks (61 in the first three months of last year, versus 35 this year), but not halted them. The pirates now have to go farther out to sea to find vulnerable targets, and this they are doing. Warships are being more decisive in determining which boats are run by pirates, and making arrests. This has slowed the pirates down, but not stopped them.A convoy of several hundred al Shabaab gunmen drove to the northern coast (Puntland) to shut down pirate operations. Pirates fled one village, but the hundred or so al Shabaab gunmen has not done much besides defeat one group of local militia defending an inland village. Al Shabaab has been unable to oust the Transitional Government militias and foreign peacekeepers from Mogadishu. This they want to do before thousands of government security troops, being trained by foreign instructors, are ready for action (in a few months.)

Japanese navy commander Keizo Kitagawa recently spoke with Agence France-Presse and disclosed that his nation was opening its first overseas military base - at any rate since the Second World War - in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.Kitagawa is assigned to the Plans and Policy Section of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, as his nation's navy is called, and is in charge of the deployment.AFP quoted the Japanese officer as stressing the unprecedented nature of the development: "This will be the only Japanese base outside our country and the first in Africa." [1]The military installation is to cost $40 million and is expected to accommodate Japanese troops early next year.Djibouti rests at the confluence of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, across from strife-torn Yemen, and borders the northwest corner of equally conflict-ridden Somalia. The narrow span of water separating it from Yemen is the gateway for all maritime traffic passing between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.Naval deployments to the Gulf of Aden by several major nations and alliances - the U.S., NATO, the European Union, China, Russia, India, Iran and others - are designed to insure the free passage of commercial vessels through the above route and to protect United Nations World Food Programme deliveries to Somalia. The second concern in particular led to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1838 in 2008, which requests that nations with military vessels in the area suppress the capture of ships and their crews for ransom. An anti-piracy mission.However, the above-mentioned Japanese naval officer was more direct in identifying his nation's interest in establishing a military base in Africa. Kitagawa also told AFP that "We are deploying here to fight piracy and for our self-defence. Japan is a maritime nation and the increase in piracy in the Gulf of Aden through which 20,000 vessels sail every year is worrying."The term self-defense is not fortuitous. Article 9 of the 1947 Japanese Constitution explicitly affirms that "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. ..." more..

UPDATE
A sharia (Islamic) court in Mogadishu run by Al-Shabaab Islamist group sentenced a man to amputation of the right hand.The man, Shine Abubakar Hassan, was reportedly found guilty by the court on Monday of stealing mattresses and other domestic items.The court also ordered Hassan to compensate for the value of the stolen items.The amputation was carried out on the same day.A judge of the al Shabaab Sharia court, Sheikh Omar announced that they found Hassan guilty of the crime when the limb was chopped off.
Mohamed Ahmed Kassim who was accused of killing another man, Abdi Hassan Khayre was sentenced to death. The court’s decision was implemented on the same day and he was shot dead by a firing squad.

Morocco stepped up security after a 2003 suicide bombing in which 45 were killed [File GALLO/GETTY]

An al-Qaeda-linked network, believed to have been planning assassinations and other attacks in Morocco, has been broken up by security forces, the kingdom's government said.Security forces have arrested 24 people suspected of involvement with the network in recent days, the Moroccan interior ministry said on Monday.The group "were preparing to carry out assassinations and acts of sabotage within the country, notably targeting the security services and foreign interests in Morocco", the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency, Map.The arrests came after some members of the alleged cell assaulted a police officer in the city of Casablanca, Morocco's economic capital.The suspects were found in possession of a pistol and ammunition that they had allegedly taken after attacking the officer, the ministry said.Enlisting recruits
The suspects are also accused of recruiting Moroccan citizens to send to conflicts in locations including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, the ministry said, citing details from an inquiry led by a prosecutor.
Other recruits were to join fighters in the Sahara and Sahel desert regions, where an al-Qaeda offshoot known as al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb has been increasingly active in recent months.The group roams the border region of Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Morocco.The network includes four former detainees convicted of terrorism-related charges in the country, it said. It did not provide details on the other suspects.Security services have reported the arrest of 30 suspected "terrorists" since March 2, including those announced on Monday.Moroccan authorities carried out mass arrests after five suicide bombings in Casablanca in May 2003 in which 45 people were killed.

The African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia says two of its soldiers have been wounded in a suicide attack in the capital, Mogadishu.In an interview with VOA's Somali Service, an AU spokesman said three attackers drove a truck filled with explosives toward a new AU peacekeeping base Tuesday, prompting soldiers to open fire.The spokesman, Major Barigye Ba-Huko, says AU forces destroyed the truck before it reached its target, killing all three people inside. At least two soldiers were wounded when the explosion went off. Several civilians were also reported injured.The Associated Press says the al-Qaida linked rebel group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. In other violence, a small bomb exploded outside a mosque in the Bakara Market section of Mogadishu Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring more than four others. The mosque is located in an area of the city dominated by al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam fighters.Al-Shabab and other Islamic insurgent groups control much of Mogadishu along with large parts of southern and central Somalia. The groups are fighting to impose a strict form of sharia, or Islamic law, on the country.AU peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are supporting the government and frequently clash with the insurgents. War-torn Somalia has not had a stable central government since 1991.

Monday, April 26, 2010

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A group of Islamic clerics in northeastern Kenya said on Monday it was cracking down on public broadcasts of soccer and films because it feared young Kenyan Muslims were shunning Islamic traditions.The group based in the town of Mandera on the border with Somalia said it had also put pressure on local administrators to back their television bans in a soccer-mad nation eagerly awaiting the World Cup in South Africa"If we come to a place where movies or watching football goes on we simply take everything and destroy the disc and repay the owners. We have now succeeded in 10 places," Sheikh Daud Sheikh Mahmud, head of the group, told Reuters.
"We will not stop until we have destroyed totally all the cinemas showing movies and football in this area," he said by phone from Mandera.Kenya said such bans could never be enforced legally.
"On our side of the border is a nation of law and order where there is no legal restriction on showing football."The region of Somalia that borders Kenya is largely controlled by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, a rebel militia which enforces a harsh version of sharia law that includes banning school bells and music on radios.The Kenyan group denied any link to al Shabaab.
heikh Daud Sheikh Mahmud said they were worried youths in the predominantly Muslim region were being distracted by television broadcasts in bars and cafes."We realized that our children were spending the whole night in those misleading places ... this is something against our Islamic religion and we are the leaders of the people," he said.Many Kenyan Muslim leaders support a more moderate interpretation of Islam, although one said restrictions on television were possible if young Muslims were indeed spending too much time transfixed by light entertainment."Our religion isn't against football as it is also healthy exercise," Sheikh Nor Barud Gurhan, a Nairobi-based Muslim scholar, told Reuters. "We could ban it if the people are busy only watching and playing football without doing the obligatory actions of Islam like praying," he said.The northern Kenyan group pledged to step up its anti-soccer drive in Kenya as Africa waits to hosts its first World Cup in June, a point of great pride for many Kenyans.
(Writing by Jeremy Clarke; Editing by David Clarke)

Karachi, 26 Sept. (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - A militant Al-Qaeda satellite cell linked to Pakistan's top Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud, and other jihadi organisations was targeted in a major raid by security forces in Karachi on Friday.Three key militants died during the raid on the cell, which was allegedly planning a campaign of destruction. Their targets are believed to have included the bureau of the country's intelligence services (ISI), NATO supply lines from two Karachi ports and anti-Taliban politicians.The satellite cell had direct links to Baitullah Mehsud and Qari Zafar, the alleged mastermind of the devastating bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel, which killed at least 53 people and injured 260 others in Islamabad last week.Security officials were reluctant to confirm it but it is understood to have been the same cell that was behind the 18 October assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto when she returned from exile. Bhutto was later killed in a second attack in December.A key Al-Qaeda militant, Rahimullah, alias Ali Hasan (Photo), was arrested during Friday's raid, that was conducted by a joint team of Pakistani police and intelligence agencies on the outskirts of Karachi's Baldia Town, near the border of restive Balochistan province.While three militants died in the raid, Rahimullah was taken into custody.Sultan Umer, Siddiq Mehsud, cousin of Baitullah Mehsud, and Waseem Bengali are believed to be the men killed in the raid on Friday. All were members of Laskhar-i-Jhangvi, an Islamist terror group linked to Al-Qaeda.However, mystery surrounds the whole episode as police previously stated that the three men had committed suicide by blowing up their jackets but in the hospital their bodies were intact.
Rahimullah, a Karachi-based ethnic Pashtun, has in the past been linked to Laskhar-i-Jhangvi and Harkat-i-Jehad-i-Islami, another jihadi group linked to Al-Qaeda and is alleged to have killed several high profile religious clerics
He was believed to have been involved in various incidents, including attacks on the US Consulate in Karachi which has been the target of several suicide attacks between 2002 and 2006.Security sources said while there was only a single cell that had been smashed in Friday's raid, Rahimullah’s arrest could help uncover the funding networks used by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda from the Middle East.Police also found the body of Shaukat Afridi, a contractor who transported NATO supplies from Karachi to Afghanistan through tankers. He was abducted from Clifton Karachi in May 2008 and his captors were demanding 64,000 dollars ransom.
He was believed to be killed in a cross fire between the police and militants.
Inspector General Police of Sindh province Salauddin Babar Khattack declined to make any comment to Adnkronos International (AKI) concerning the militants' links with South Waziristan.
“It is confirmed that they belong to Laskhar-i-Jhangvi but we cannot confirm or deny their links with South Waziristan,” Khattack told AKI by telephone.Pakistani intelligence agencies have identified the southern port city of Karachi as the greatest potential terror target since the Marriott blast in Islamabad.Security agencies were on high alert on Friday outside the foreign missions in Karachi and around the strategic organisations like ISI which are heavily involved in anti-terror operations across the country and manned by mostly military officials.

MoS Moments of Silence

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

Designation of Al-Shabaab

When our world changed forever

Al-Shabaab

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

SOMALI REPUBLICANS

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Somalia

About Us

The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

Al-Qaida in Somalia. ...

We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.